Playing Nebraska Catch-Up

After leaving Scottsbluff after staying for three nights (we loved it there) our goal was Ogallala and Front Street.  Remember in an earlier post we had finally found it on our way out west, but it was closed.  On a weekday, around lunchtime, this is what we encountered at Front Street...........

......everything but the restaurant was closed.  Had wanted our pictures taken 'western style' but their sign said they were at the county fair.  Even the antique shop was no longer there and had moved across the street.  So needless to say, we left, never to return.  And it really put me in one fowl mood, shame on me.  Drove on to North Platte for the night and try to get my attitude straightened out.  :)
   But we made plans for the rest of the trip, and by the time we were on the road Thursday morning, we were both in a much better attitude and spirit.  On to Kearney, Minden and Hastings.

 We have been to the "Great Platte River Road" archway near Kearney before, but never took the time to actually walk around and enjoy the historical walk through that spans the interstate below.

 Here we go with a picture by a buffalo again.....  I think maybe it's just a big enough object that Bill can actually get a good focus on it with the camera.  His good eye has been giving him issues this week, so any picture that he offers to take is a huge blessing, buffalo and all.

 A beautiful mosaic out front of the archway - tons of pennies have been thrown on it like a wishing well.

 It's just a magnificent place, in looks and structure.  And the weather behaved beautifully.

 There was a little walk over bridge beyond the mosaic and the water was so blue.  We just had to walk over the bridge and see what was on the other side.

 On our way back over the bridge, we finally read this sign.  No fishing?  Bill was quite disturbed.  HA!  If anyone has been to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha and know how the koi is under the big bridge there, that's how the fish were under this bridge.  Only these were good FISHING fish.  Bill couldn't make them out very well due to his eyes, but I could not believe how many fish were close to the surface and taunting us.  The little kids on the bridge were calling out the names of the fish.  That didn't help poor Bill's un-fishing attitude any.  But it was beautiful.

 Close to the end of the historical tour through the archway, there was a spot where you could stop and watch the interstate traffic and see if anyone is speeding.  Of course, when we were there, no one was.  Actually, there have been very few instances of speeders so far this trip!

On to Minden only a few miles southeast of Kearney....

 On our way into town, we knew to be watching for Bill's grandpa's arch that was reportedly along the highway before the entrance to the Harold Warp's Pioneer Village.  So being tourists, I stopped in the middle of the highway and snapped a pic quick.  Wasn't sure if we would see if good from the inside of the museum.

 But we did!!  This used to be the archway on the east side of Columbus, Nebraska back in the day to welcome you to their town.  Floyd Nichols (Bill's grandpa) is the artist and maker.

 The sun was playing perfectly off the relief work on the arch.

 They've preserved the newspaper article from 1980 explaining how Bill's mom, Ruth Nichols, had been searching for the arch to try and preserve it.  It had been torn down in 1962 to make way for a wider highway into Columbus.  This explains her work in getting it located and placed at this particular museum.

 Here is one VERY proud grandson - an he should be.  I was even emotional about it.  Bill's family is so full of art and creativity.

Side note:   If you check back to a previous post about David City, you will see more of Floyd Nichols sculptures at the entrance of the city park.  The David City artwork has a military theme and well worth taking a peek at.

With all the history we're encountered, and museums visited, we found plenty of historical items for my own craft and employment, and only drums that would reflect Bill's interests.  But there were no printing presses to be found anywhere and it's been my mission all week to find at least one!  And at Pioneer Village we finally located a room full of them.  And out of that whole room, NONE of them (not even a maker) matched anything we had ever had in our business, nor where he works now.  There were plenty of letter presses, and that particular hobby is quite popular on handmade sites these days.  But my mission was now complete.

We stopped for a root beer float before leaving the village which topped off a nostalgic day perfectly.  Back in the car and headed east to Hastings for Kool Aid Days, a 3 day event celebrating the fact that Kool Aid is part of Nebraska history.

Mission 35

We are most definitely showing our age.  After leaving Lincoln at 2:00 pm yesterday we started talking about how far and how long to drive since we got to leave a whole day earlier than planned.

We have to admit though, that after the first 15 minutes, we were totally set and at ease with many things.  Mostly the court date and any necessary appearances needed by Bill concerning the assault and robbery he had to endure last November.  The prosecuting attorney called him while we were still within city limits and updated us on the case - which was ALL good.  No appearances needed, the assailant plead out to 5 years on two counts.  So SMOOTH sailing the rest of the week.

But back to the 'old' thing, when we hit GI town Bill looked at the time and he stated we were 20 minutes ahead of schedule.  WHAT SCHEDULE, you goof!!!!  I laughed so hard.  This vacation is not about schedules, time, or anything like that.  We live every day dealing with time, schedules, deadlines..... but not this week.  It was a good checkpoint for us both - to relax, not worry, and enjoy.

So back to the beginning of the story....  I suggested as we pulled out of the driveway that we make it a Mission 35 trip.  Anything we see with a 35 on it we would photograph, notate or talk about.  At our initial gas up before leaving town, yep, you guessed it.....

Our first "35"!!!!  Just knew we were destined for "35" success!

As we neared Kearney and the magnificent archway, we were greeted by a group of hawks - 9 of them to be exact.  Yet another showing of God's blessings.

Pull off the Kearney exit, and immediately we were like two little kids.  "We have to see this, and this, and this, and go here and here and here!"  Kearney was our first home as a married couple.  So many memories in Kearney town.   One goal was to find the tiki bar "The Elephant's Eye" which was in the Holiday Inn back in our day.  We found the building, but it wasn't a Holiday Inn any longer, but it still had the tiki bar and huge pool.  So yeah, sign us in and take our AARP card!! HA On a side note, if you are ever in Kearney, Nebraska, give the Ramada Inn a try - it is fantabulous and the staff is great.  We are all about the people and these people are great.

After taking care of the necessities, off we go again to drive around the big city.  First mission:  find our original apartment.  Without much effort, the car managed to find it with no problem, even though Bill was totally lost.  No more drive-in theater in our back yard that would always tell us we were almost home.  What we found, though, was sad.  The measure of time took it's toll on the apartment house.

The overgrown bushes, trees and grass, along with the sad sloping of the porch roof only solidified the years we've been gone from here.  We couldn't even tell if people lived here any longer and if I had had my wits about me, we should have rang the doorbell to see.  I think we were just dumbstruck at its sadness.  But that was one AWESOME upstairs apartment and still remember Bill's dad helping us move in and only slightly complaining about taking my piano up a flight of stairs.  At $160 rent a month, we were blessed.

As time went on though, we wanted to start a family.  So we needed more than a one bedroom walk up.  And in 1977, living in a trailer park was a-okay and totally wonderful!  So our next stop was off to the other side of town to R-Villa Trailer Court, #28.

We honestly could NOT believe that this trailer home was STILL there and lived in after 35 years!!!  This is where we took in our first dog, Woofer #1.  She was a great dog and I can still see her sticking her nose out that front screen door.  This is also the home where we welcomed our first baby, Season.  Oh, the stories we had to tell for the next hour about this home.  Here is where we were now called "a family".

More driving around was called for.  Bob's was now SUPER Bob's, the music store had moved and grown, Central Avenue was simply divine to drive 5 mph down and have people wonder what was wrong with us.  Hey, we're on VACA - get over it.  :)

On the way back to the hotel, we wanted to make one actual stop - and that was at the Big Apple.  The only place other than Shakey's pizza (which isn't there anymore) we would go entertain ourselves during our first pregnancy.  Video games were just at the Pac Man stage, and bowling was huge.  It was a great weekend haunt for us.  But it also grew!  Amazing sports bar that not only had pool tables, but ping pong, Keno, state of the art video games and great service!  We kicked back for a beer and one game of Keno.  Talked to the assistant manager a little and of course, handed him my business card JUST in case he would ever have vinyl banners to unload.

Back to the hotel, and the Elephant's Eye Tiki Bar.  An evening of unbelievable fun, service, people and these photos to share........

The evening started out meeting Dennis and Sue from Colorado, Jamie and Jenny from Iowa, 3 architects from our own town Lincoln, and ALL THESE PEOPLE who stepped up to make our 35th anniversary even more memorable!!!  Take a look at this.......

Dennis is a mining engineer and between him and the 3 from Lincoln (playing with straws to design the number 35 before they went to task) they had this rolling down below the tiki bar.  And then a wedding group came in and these kids did the same....  but they didn't have to think about it as long as us old codgers.  They had their formation done in about 2 minutes.  Oh, to be young again.......... nah.

We definitely had many blessings on our first unplanned and unexpected day of vacation.

Now it's time to get moving and get further west.....................  we'll keep you posted.  :)